Arch of Cabo San Lucas
There are two reasons why some of the top golf course architects have stamped their names on golf courses in Cabo San Lucas….spectacular weather and equally spectacular scenery.
Not surprisingly, the likes of Nicklaus, Fazio, Jones and Norman have provided their design services to produce some spectacular golf courses.
Never been to Cabo? It is located at the southern tip of the Baja California Sur Peninsula in western Mexico, and is a favorite vacation destinations among U.S. west coasters.
Cabo San Lucas is the party hub and most populated city of the Los Cabos municipality, which encompasses 1,448 square miles at the south end of the Baja California Sur peninsula.
Cabo has a desert climate, and has average high temperatures in the upper 70s in January and February, making it a perfect Winter destination for golfers. Temps average well into the 90’s during the summer though.
Cabo became a popular tourist destination due to this climate, as well as its beaches and wildlife.
Cabo hosts the world’s richest marlin fishing tournament annually. In the Winter months, whales can be spotted off the coast as they travel to the area from Alaska and Siberia to give birth in the warm waters.
Altogether, there are over a dozen golf courses in the Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos area. Let’s have a look at the list from west to east…
El Cardonal Golf Club
Diamante Oasis Short Course
Cabo San Lucas Country Club
Cabo Del Sol Ocean Course
Cabo Del Sol Desert Course
Cabo Real
Club Campestre
Palmilla Golf Club
Querencia Golf Club
Casa de Campo golf course
Puerto Los Cabos
Vidana Los Cabos
El Dorado
Jack Nicklaus has had a hand in designing several of these golf courses, including the Ocean Course at Cabo Del Sol, Palmilla Golf Club, El Dorado and Quivira. Obviously, Jack enjoys Cabo!
Other notables who’ve designed golf courses in Cabo San Lucas include Davis Love III, Tom Weiskopf, Tiger Woods, Tom Fazio and Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
Let’s take a closer look at a few of these gems.
Diamante Dunes
Diamante Dunes
Surprisingly, the most praise of any course in the area goes to the Davis Love III designed course, Diamante Dunes. This course, was recently ranked #36 in the world by Golf magazine.
The course was built in 2009 and is situated just to the west of Cabo San Lucas. From the back tees, the course has a length of 7,160 yards and plays to a par of 72.
The course offers wide fairways, large rolling greens, and a diverse group of holes that offers spectacular views of the ocean and dunes through which the course runs.
The course is only available for play by resort property owners and vacation renters.
El Cardonal
El Cardonal
El Cardonal is the first golf course design of Tiger Woods and is also located at the Diamante resort with Diamante Dunes.
The course opened in 2014 and plays to a par of 72 with the back tees playing to a length of over 7,300 yards.
Wood’s goal with the course was to make it playable for golfers of all skill levels, and its inspiration came from the courses he grew up playing in southern California.
Palmilla Golf Club
Palmilla Ocean Course
Palmilla is the first of the four golf courses in Los Cabos designed by Jack Nicklaus. Palmilla, which opened in 1992, actually offers 27 holes, each named after the defining feature of the course.
The Ocean course starts out with a 600 foot elevation change from holes one through six. This nine stretches out to just over 3,500 yards and several holes are within a wedge shot of the Pacfic.
The Mountain course is just over 3,600 yards from the back tees and is framed by the mountains surrounding Cabo.
The Arroyo course is only 3,327 yards from the tips, but may have the best views with the Sea of Cortez as the backdrop.
Palmilla is a public golf course, so access is among the easiest among Cabo San Lucas golf courses.
Cabo Del Sol – Ocean Course
Cabo Del Sol Ocean
This is another Nicklaus design, and the last of the courses I’ll discuss for now, as it is another course available to the public.
The Ocean Course was built in 1994, and has been ranked as high as 70th in Golf magazine’s world golf course rankings.
Nicklaus himself suggests that the course offers “three of the best ocean finishing holes in all of golf.”
From the tips, the course stretches out to just over 7,100 yards and plays to a par of 72. The course has the reputation as the most difficult in Los Cabos. However, most observers feel that its one mile stretch of oceanfront offers up some of the best scenery in the area.
Final Thoughts
I’ve only offered a window view into what Cabo San Lucas can offer the golfer who’s looking to escape Winter here in the U.S.
However, the area is appealing to all types of golfers, from those who enjoy stay and play experiences to golfers who want to enjoy everything that the area has to offer, including the nightlife in Cabo San Lucas.
In future posts, I’ll discuss all the options available to play golf in Cabo San Lucas. In the meantime, if you’re ready to start booking a trip, check out the flight and hotel options below.
Thanks for reading!
